The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the country, recommended that educators include the controversial book “Gender Queer” in their summer reading.
“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, who uses “e/em/eir” pronouns, is a graphic novel that “is a useful and touching guide on gender identity,” according to Simon & Schuster’s website. The publisher’s website noted that the book “started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual.”
According to Fox News, “Gender Queer” has riled up controversy among parents for being included in school libraries and curriculum. The book reportedly includes “depictions and descriptions of oral sex as well as discussions on masturbation.” In past interviews, the author has reportedly defended the explicit content depicted in the book.
On the NEA’s summer reading list, “Gender Queer” is listed as a “banned book.”
“Twilight used to be at the top of banned-book lists for its racy content,” the webpage stated. “Today, those lists are much more likely to feature LGBTQ+ people or People of Color. Indeed, the top two books banned in 2022 were Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, about identifying outside the gender binary, and All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson.”
🚨The NEA — the largest teachers union in America — is recommending that teachers read "Gender Queer" for their summer reading.
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) July 3, 2023
This is who we’re up against in our fight against indoctrination in K-12 classrooms.https://t.co/M49GpWkz1u
"The NEA's book list is steeped in ideology which isn't surprising since they've become an organization focused on race and gender that pays zero attention to student outcomes or parents' concerns," Erika Sanzi, the director of outreach for parental rights organization Parents Defending Education (PDE), told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). "I suspect many of their members will find Gender Queer to be completely inappropriate for a school setting."
Fox News noted that the NEA President Becky Pringle recently said that “education justice must be about racial justice, it must be about social justice, it must be about climate justice.”